2008 Nat Program - US Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Federation Wiki

A Brief History of Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan
Soo Bahk Do is the name Founder Hwang Kee created to identify the martial art that we study. Its direct
translation is Soo (hand), Bahk (strike), and Do (art or way).
According to the Moo Yei Do Bo Tong Ji, which is the oldest known recorded history of martial art practice
indigenous to Korea. The term "bak" appears to have first been used in the age of Chun Chu (2700 years
ago) and the term "su bak" appears to have been first used during the early Jon Han Dynasty in China
(2200 years ago).
Numerous variations of terms referring to "su bak" are recorded in historical documentation and wall
paintings of tombs since the Han Dynasty (2000 years ago) and through the Ko Ku Ryo, Silla, and Ko
Ryo Dynasties and down to the Yi Dynasty (600 years ago).
However, su bak ki (su bak technique) or su bak hee (su bak dance) seem to have been more actively
known and practiced during the Ko Ku Ryo dynasty (2000 years ago), Ko Ryo dynasty (1000 years ago),
and Yi Dynasty (600 years ago) of Korea. This shows that su bak ki (or hee) was practiced by Korean
people traditionally since the Ko Ku Ryo Dynasty of 200 years ago.
The existence of su bak in Korea had slipped into obscurity for nearly a half century during the Japanese
occupation until Korea became an independent country at the end of World War II on August 15, 1945.
Kwan Jang Nim Hwang Kee discovered su bak during his scholarly research of the Moo Yei Do Bo Tong
Ji in 1957. His discovery created an opportunity for him to spearhead the rebirth of su bak as a
traditional Korean martial art for practitioners around the world. He spent long and arduous hours
studying and translating the Moo Yei Do Bo Tong Ji to develop his martial art system which he named
"Soo Bahk Do" and taught through his Moo Duk Kwan (Military Virtue Institute). He also founded
and formally registered the Korean Soo Bahk Do Association, Moo Duk Kwan as a corporation with the
Korean government on June 30, 1960. His martial art system is recognized as a living art, and he strongly
encouraged practitioners to connect with its long and proud heritage.
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